


Volume 1 - Five Years too Late

by ASociallyAwkwardDuckling, SyndicateSnowflake



Series: Grimm Consequenses [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Canon Compliant, F/F, Future Fic, Slow Burn, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2018-10-13
Packaged: 2019-07-03 12:30:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 20,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15818910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ASociallyAwkwardDuckling/pseuds/ASociallyAwkwardDuckling, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SyndicateSnowflake/pseuds/SyndicateSnowflake
Summary: Ten years after the fall of Beacon, five after the battle against Salem reached its end, team RWBY is no more.Ruby Rose, the once optimistic, naive leader of the team, now presumed dead. But is that really the truth? The battle of Salem has caused wounds that can never be healed. With Salem gone, the Grimm have grown in numbers, but are slowly declining, with the help of other huntresses of course. Until one day, the Grimm start appearing again mysteriously.





	1. Dawn of Five Years

Five years had passed since the war had come to an end. L ives have been better. Attacks from Grimm were nearly non-existent and the Four Kingdoms had been restored to peace. People were happy and content and  _ hopeful _ again. The Grimm are gone along with the fear that they brought. Everything is better these days. At least, that is what everyone believes. 

To Ruby Rose, however, she sees none of that. She sees a world being lulled into a false peace. She sees darkness in the corners of the world and knows the truth. That it’s only a matter of time before another threat emerges from the shadows ready to try and take Salem’s place. There will always be another threat to peace. For where there is light there is dark. 

Sol was a small Village located just outside of Vale near Forever Falls and was where Ruby was currently staying. Ruby stepped out of the inn and began headed toward the edge of the village. She stopped by a few shop to stock up on things she needed including dust rounds and grabbed a copy of the newspaper to keep herself busy. As she walked past the people and shopkeeps, no one seems to recognize her. ‘ _ Good.’  _

She headed toward the edge of town, a look of displeasure on her face. She had a job to do even if she utterly loathed it. 

Ruby sits perched atop a tree completely out of sight behind the red leaves of forever falls while reading the paper, scoffing at the things that were written. “Today marks the Fifth year anniversary of Salem's defeat, and death of the hero, Ruby Rose.” The article was about the festival that Vale hosted every year in honor of those who lost their lives in the fight against Salem. Of course, they would mention her.  She was the valiant hero who had struck the final blow against the evil witch Salem. Why wouldn’t they try and memorialize her as such? 

She let out a bitter laugh, “ I'm no hero, just a coward.” As she continues to read her heart twists. Weiss Schnee, SDC Heiress turned CEO, was reported to have headed to Mistral for a meeting with High leader Blake Belladonna earlier this week. The picture of Weiss stared back at Ruby as if judging her for the last five years of her life. 

Ruby pulled out a flask and took a swig. _ ‘I really hate this job.’ _ She thinks as she crumbles the paper and throws to the ground below. A breeze blew through the forest, adding an eerie feeling to the setting of where she was. Her cape, now scarf, waves in the breeze. 

After the fight with Salem, it was the only thing she kept to remind herself who she is, who she was. Or rather, that's what she told herself. 

She scanned the area to see if any Grimm have recently been in the area.  She watched as citizens passed under her heading in and out of town. Ruby found her eyes drawn to a certain pairing, a father and his daughter. She watched them closely, longing for her own father. 

Since the final battle with Salem, Ozpin had reopened Beacon’s doors and had begun to train the next generation of Hunters and Huntresses to fight against the Grimm. For a while after Salem’s death, it had looked as though The Creatures of Grimm might be going extinct with attacks by the creatures on the decline, with the sightings of common types barely numbering in the hundreds. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, about two years ago the population had spiked. It had been seemingly out of nowhere and, according to Oz, was incredibly unusual. That’s what lead Ruby to her current situation. Up a tree in the middle of Forever Falls watching for signs of Grimm activity with an order to report her findings back to Ozpin. 

She reached into her inside jacket pocket, pulling out a notebook and pencil. She flipped to a fresh page and wrote, ‘Forever Falls’ at the top of the page and then turned her attention to the treeline.  She recorded her data, observing everyone that came through town. All she heard were a few howls and took care of them. She decided that just sitting in a tree isn't really her style  and began jumping from tree to tree only stopping to record data on the Grimm she saw before exterminating them as quickly as possible. Eventually, she had filled up four pages of her small notebook and decided that she’d done enough. Forever falls had never been that densely populated with Grimm but that had changed in recent years.  A lot had changed in recent years. 

Ruby hoisted herself to her feet, the branch shaking under her weight, and was about to jump to the ground when her scroll buzzed from inside her pocket. She fished it out and was immediately met by Ozpin’s new face staring back at her. Leaning against the trunk of the tree, Ruby answered the call letting out an exaggerated long-suffering sigh.

“Hello, Miss Rose. How’s your mission going?” He sounded like he knew exactly how it was going. 

“Fine, Ozpin. I’m done.” She could practically see him quirking a brow at her which was a testament to how well she had come to know the mysterious headmaster in the last five years. 

“Then you’ll have time to come to Vale for the festival.” Ruby audibly winced, sucking air in through her teeth. 

“Oz. You know how I feel about the festival.” Ruby looked off into the distance when she heard the howl of a Beowulf. It wasn’t her problem anymore.

“Yes. I do but you have to come and give me your reports so you might as well enjoy the festivities. They're in your honor after all.” 

Ruby closed her eyes, “That’s why I don’t like it, Oz.” She ran a hand through her hair, kept at shoulder length with the left side completely shaved, and let out a sigh, “Fine but don’t expect me to enjoy myself.” 

Ozpin let out a quiet chuckle, “I would never.” A quiet click as all the notice Ruby got that the call had been ended. 

“Yeah. Don’t even say goodbye, why don’t ya. ” Ruby rolled her eyes as she pocketed her scroll before dropping from the tree branch with a thud. She took one last look at the tree line before turning and heading back toward the town.

* * *

 

Vale was in full celebration mode by the time she had arrived and Ruby was immediately put into a foul mood. None of these people understood. None of them understood just what this peace had cost. That the only reason they could enjoy this festival was because of the countless deaths that had occurred at the hands of Salem. Ruby weaved through the crowd as she headed toward Beacon tower, doing her best to blend in with the crowd. She found her mind going back to the last time she’d attended something like this and the events that had taken place. The Vytal festival had been the first in a long serious of senseless tragedies caused by Salem’s actions. Ruby shook her head at the thought of all the innocent lives that had been lost in the five years that followed the fall of Beacon. 

Most of the Academy had been rebuilt and as such looked much newer then it did when Ruby had been a student. Beacon Tower was the most recent addition as well as the most hi-tech. As Ruby approached the tower's elevator she felt a familiar twinge of anxiety in her chest. She forced herself to take a deep breath before pressing the call button. The elevator door opened and she stepped inside. The elevator began to move up toward the top of the tower and Ruby leaned against the back wall, pulling out her flask emptying the last of its contents into her mouth. The door slid open just as she was slipping the flask back inside her jacket. She stepped off the elevator and into the top of Beacon Tower. The sound of the gears turning above were nearly silent as she approached the desk and the man sitting behind it. 

“Miss Rose. I wasn’t expecting you for another few hours.” It was still odd to hear Ozpin’s voice coming from Oscar's body. 

Ruby leaned against the desk, “Yeah well. I’m nothing if not efficient.” She picked up a piece of paper looking over it, “I mean, that is the only reason you keep me around, isn't it?” 

“You know that’s not true Ruby,” Ozpin said as he took the paper back from the Huntress. “Do you have my report for me?” 

“Yeah, yeah.” Ruby reached into her jacket, pulling out the notebook and flipping it open. “Emerald Forest had a total of 243 Grimm mostly Beowulf’s and Ursa through the appearances of Nevermore, Deathstalkers and King Taijitu have increased as well.” Ruby flipped the page, “Forever falls had less Grimm at only 213 total with most of them being Beowulf.” She flipped the page again, “Mount Glenn had around 345 totally Grimm, the most out of any of the location, they were mostly Beowulf’s along with the occasional sub terrain type Grimm.” She closed her notebook and looked at Ozpin “The rumors of the appearance of Nucklavees in Emerald Forest still hasn’t been confirmed but from what I’ve seen I believe there is some validity to them.” 

Ozpin nodded, his expression grim as he folded his hands in front of his face. “This is grim news indeed.” Ruby tried and failed, to stifle the laugh that escaped at the unintentional pun. “Do you find this funny, Miss Rose?” 

“Not at all.” Ruby wiped the smirk from her face and turned to Ozpin, “How long are you planning to keep this charade up, Ozpin?” 

Ozpin looked up at her, “For as long as it takes.” 

Ruby let out a sigh as she pushed herself off the desk, “And what happens when people find out what you’ve been hiding. Culling the Grimm is only a temporary solution and eventually, people are gonna find out that the Grimm aren’t gone. What are you gonna do when that happens, Oz?” 

“We’ll cross that bridge if we get to it,” Ozpin said as he stood up and moved to the window overlooking the courtyard. 

“When, not if, Oz.” Ruby walked over so she was standing next to him, “People are gonna find out. Every Hunter in Remnant already knows about our Grimm problem and eventually, ordinary citizens will put two and two together and figure it out as well.” Ozpin hummed slightly, “We need a permanent solution to this problem of ours otherwise when word gets out, all is going to break loose.” 

Ozpin was silent before turning to look up at her, “I understand your concerns Miss Rose but I need you to trust that I have this under control.”

Ruby huffed, running a hand through her hair agitatedly, “Fine! Have it your way but when this blows up in your face don’t come crying to me.” Ruby turned on her heel and was several steps toward the elevator when she stopped and turned to look at Ozpin, “You know for a Millenia old being with eon’s of wisdom on me you're making some pretty stupid decisions.”

* * *

 

The boat ride to Patch was relaxing. Well, as relaxing as it could be when she was a ball of nerves and anxiety. She was going home for the first time in five years so of course, she was a little nervous. She watched as the island of Patch came into view and immediately, began to regret her decision to return to home. Ruby closed her eyes, reaching into her jacket pocket and pulled out a silver flask. She let out a sigh as she twisted off the cap and brought it up to her lips, tilting back her head only to be disappointed when she found it was empty. Ruby let out another sigh as she returned the flask to her pocket just as the boat pulled up to the dock. 

She pushed herself off from the railing and headed toward  the boarding plank. Ruby did her best to go unnoticed as she moved away from the crowd and further into the island. As she walked the familiar paths from her childhood her heart began to beat a little faster. She forced herself to breathe as a familiar front lawn came into view. She half expected the sound of barking but was instead meant only by silence. Ruby walked up the dirt path that led up to the front door stopping in front of the door as she collected herself. She brought her hand up to the door, ready to knock only to stop when the unmistakable sound of Beowulf roar hit her ears.

Without thinking, Ruby turned and ran toward the source of the sound, all her Huntress instincts kicking as she propelled herself through the forest with her semblance. The sound of the howls got louder the closer she got and she realized that there were more than one.   _ ‘Shit. Shit. Shit.’  _ Ruby nearly ran into a tree but quickly turned her body around and pushed herself off the trunk of the tree. Eventually, she came to a clearing where she saw two Beowulf and an Ursa. They were all slightly smaller than typical Grimm and as such she could just barely make out the figure of the person they were encroaching on. She could only wonder why they had yet to scream in terror. Ruby reached around her back and gripped the handle of her weapon, Crimson Wrath, pulling it from its sheath. She shifted her foot forward, moving Crimson Wrath in a crescent motion as she launched herself forward at a startling speed. 

She cut into the Ursa, sending its top half toppling to the ground before turning to the two Beowulf. She started them down until one of them decided it would be a good idea to charge at her. She leveled her weapon at shoulder height before lunging forward, impaling the creature. Ruby pulled Crimson Wrath from the dissolving corpse turning to the final one only for it to back up and run into the forest, its tail between its legs. Ruby smirked, as she holstered her weapons and turned to the civilian only for it to fall for her face when she noticed who it was that was. There hunched on the ground was her father. His blonde hair was greying at the sides and he had wrinkles at the edges of his blue eyes but there was no doubt about it. 

The man stared up at her, a look of utter disbelief on his face, “Ruby...”   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo, Snow here! I'd like to thank you all for reading our first chapter! We are working on more, so stay tuned! Much love from Snowy and Duck <3


	2. Stillness in Routine

The blare of her alarm jolted Weiss into an unwelcome consciousness. She rolled over in her bed, slapped the off button on her scroll and then proceeded to turn back over, desperate to get a few more minutes of sleep. She had only just fallen back into a light slumber when her scroll started ringing. Letting out a groan, Weiss reluctantly picked it up and answered with about as much annoyance as you would expect. “This had better be good.” 

“It is Miss Schnee.” The sound of her secretaries voice spoke from the other end of the scroll and Weiss found her annoyance lessen. “Your 8:30 appointment is here.” 

“My 8:30? But it’s only-” Weiss trailed off when she looked at the clock on her bedside table to see that it was nearly 9 o’clock. She had severely overslept. “Shit.” Weiss threw back her covers, “I’ll be in as soon as possible. My 8:30 is Ironwood, correct?”

“That it is ma’am.” Weiss nearly let out a sigh of relief. Ironwood would understand or at the very least not yell at her about how unprofessional this was. 

“Alright. Tell him I’ll be there in thirty minutes. An hour at the latest.” Her secretary gave an affirmative before she hung up and Weiss was left alone. It was nothing new. She was used to being alone, but after all those years spent with her team on the battlefield, she had found that being alone held a bitterness to it. She found herself longing for the companionship she had in those years when they would all sleep in the same tent and eat the same food. She missed it. She missed her friends and, although she would never admit it aloud, she missed Ruby the most.  She missed the way Ruby smiled at her, the way she could get through her bitterness, she missed  _ her _ , so much.

Forcing her longing down she swung her legs off the edge of her bed, placing her feet on the soft carpet of her bedroom floor. She stood up and quickly made her way across the room throwing open the door and stepped into the hall. Her feet collided with the cold stone of the hallway and she curled her toes against the hallway before she began moving toward her kitchen. She needed Coffee. Stat. 

Once she had started the coffee she returned to her room, quickly stipping as she walked toward the closet. She opened the door and walked inside dragging her eyes of the many sets of similar yet slightly different suits and skirt suit combinations. Weiss had an aesthetic and a style and she wasn’t going to apologize for it. She looked through several outfits before one caught her eye. It was a ice blue suit with red accents. The belt attached had a holster with gold epaulets on the shoulders. Attached to the lapel was a small medal about the size quarter Lein with the Kingdom of Vale’s Crest engraved on its surface. She only wore this one day out of the year and that day was a week away. Letting out a sigh, she moved on to the next outfit and proceeded to get dressed. She didn’t have time to be depressed after all she had a multi-billion Lein company to run.

* * *

 

By some small miracle, she managed to arrive at the SDC HQ within the 30-minute deadline. The fact that her driver was willing to break several traffic laws in order to do so had helped. Weiss’s heel’s clicked against the tile flooring as she entered her office. She turned to see her secretary sitting at her desk who looked up and smiled, “He’s in your office, Miss Schnee.” Weiss nodded and gave the young woman a soft smile before entering the private office where she found General Ironwood standing at the window staring out at Atlas. 

“Hello, Miss Schnee.” He said without turning away from the window. Weiss walked up next to him looking out at the Atlas skyline. Snow covered the city creating a landscape of white and grey. The sun had decided to show itself today which caused the temperature to be several degrees warmer and Weiss was oh so thankful for it. 

“Hello, General. My apologies for my tardiness.” Weiss clasped her hands behind her back, glancing up at the aging general. “What brings you here today?” 

“I needed to confirm the shipment of dust to the Vacuo front.” Ironwood finally looked at her, his face a mask of impassiveness. 

Weiss turned back to the window, “You know you could have just called Fauna and confirmed.” 

Ironwood gave a half shrug. “I prefer a hands-on approach.” 

Weiss rolled her eyes, “You just wanted an excuse to return to Atlas, didn’t you?” 

Ironwood chuckled, “Am I that obvious?” 

“No. I just know you a little too well.” Weiss looked at the General again and noticed something in his eyes, “The next shipment of dust should be on its way to Vacuo if it's not already there.” 

“Thank you. Your support is appreciated.” 

“I just want this pointless war to end.” Weiss shook her head at the thought. About half a year ago, Vacuo had accused Mistral of using sea-based trade routes that they had claimed as their own and before long a full-blown war had broken out between the two kingdoms. A pointless war over something as trivial as trade routes. Atlas and Vale had stepped in to try and move the two kingdoms toward negotiations while also keeping the body count as low as possible. She let out a sigh, “Do you need anything else?” 

“I don’t need anything else.” Weiss waited for the sound of heavy footsteps to signify the General was taking his leave but instead a large hand was placed on her shoulder. She looked up at him again to see that his hard blue eyes had softened, “But do you need something?” 

Weiss narrowed her eyes at the General, shrugging off his hand. “No, I don’t.” She moved around Ironwood and toward her desk.

“Are you sure?” Ironwood moved around the front of her desk, “I know that day is coming up-” 

“Enough!” Weiss cut Ironwood off, slamming her fist against her desk. She took a breath, trying to calm herself, “Your concern is appreciated if wholly unnecessary.” Weiss pulled out her chair and sat down as she schooled her expression back into one of uncaring coldness. “I can take care of myself.” 

“I’m well aware of that fact but that doesn’t keep me from worrying.” She looked up at him and let out a sigh. 

“I just don’t want to talk about it, James.” Weiss ran a hand over her face as she leaned back in her chair. 

Ironwood nodded, “Just know that if you ever want to talk I’m only a phone call away.” Weiss watched as he turned to leave before returning to her eyes to the mountains of paperwork that covered her desk. “It was good talking to you, Weiss.” 

“Five years.” Weiss hated the tremor in her voice as she spoke. She kept eyes on her desk, knowing that she was on the verge of tears. “It’s been five year since she...died.” Weiss said the last word in a barely audible whisper. It hurt to admit it aloud but every year that went by it got easier to do. Ruby Rose was dead. There was no changing that fact no matter how much Weiss wished she could. No amount of money could bring the dead back from the grave. 

She leaned her head against her hands and the sound of footsteps echoed through her office. A soft hand is placed on her head and Ironwood spoke quietly, “It will get easier. I promise.” Weiss sniffled and nodded, wiping her eyes. 

Weiss looked up at Ironwood, giving him a small smile, “I know. It’s just hard knowing she’s gone and that I could have-”

“Hey now thinking like that isn’t going to help anything.” Ironwood said a smile appearing on his face. “You need to keep looking forward at a better and brighter future instead of back at the dark of the past.” Again, Weiss nodded not quite trusting her voice and watched as Ironwood placed his hand on the door, “If you’re ever on the Vacuo front give me a call and I’ll show you the best place to get a drink around those parts.” 

Weiss laughed at the offer. There wasn’t much to do in the middle of a warzone other than drink and fight. “I just might take you up on that offer.” She watched as he left, leaving Weiss along with her paperwork. She let out a sigh leaning back her chair before bouncing forward and diving head first into the mountain of paperwork.

* * *

 

Weiss ran her hand through her hair as she read over the report for the third time trying to understand just what this person’s thought process was when writing it. In a fit of frustration she tossed the report into the growing pile of all the reports she was going to need clarification on. She leaned back in her chair, glancing out at the darkening Atlaisan sky.  _ ‘Of course, it wouldn’t last.’  _

Weiss stretched her arms overhead deciding to take a break when she heard her scroll going off  from somewhere under the piles of paperwork she still had to go through before the day was done . She  wondered  who could possibly be calling her at this time of day  as she tried to find her scroll .  She pulled out from under one of the piles and sigh ed when she sees Blake’s name and picture pop up . She inhales sharply  before exhaling as she composes herself and picks up the scroll, answering it.  “Hello, Blake.” 

“Hey Weiss, its been awhile.” Blake chuckles on the other end of the line. 

“Yes, it has. I haven’t  heard from you in months.” Weiss said as she looked at the stack of newspapers on the corner of her desk.  The media had varied opinions on High Leader Belladonna and whether she was qualified for her current position. The media seemed to like to think they knew what it took to do what they did without actually knowing anything at all. 

“Yeah, well I’ve been busy. I’ve been making progress with  the Kingdom’s and  their Councils for  the Amendment to the  Faunas Rights bill. It’s been going pretty well so far.” 

Weiss sighs in relief. She’s been so busy running the SDC that she forgot how good it felt to talk to her friend.  She had nearly forgotten that she even had friends.

“You know,” Blake says, catching Weiss’s attention. “ Yang and I were talking and we were thinking about meeting up for a hunt. For old times sake.” 

And suddenly Blake had all of Weiss’s attention. A hunt was exactly what she needed right now. “When and where?” 

Blake nervously chuckles making Weiss frown.  Mistral in about a week.” And suddenly Weiss was no longer on board with this idea. “That day is coming up and Yang’s been wanting to do something together. Ya know, as a team but if your not up for it I can tell-” 

“I’m fine.” She cut Blake off sharply.  “I’m fine with it, I mean. I want to see you and Yang as well. I mean what's it been, two and a half years since we were all on the same continent?” 

Blake laughed a little more relaxed, “Something like that.” The line went silent for a moment, “Listen Weiss if you ever want to talk about her know that I’m all ears.” Weiss let out a short laugh at the horrible pun.

“Yang really is a horrible influence on you.” Blake laughed as well but it was quieter than before, “I don't want to talk about that, Blake. Can we just stick to talking about tea and coffee and interkingdom politics like usual?” 

“Sure, Weiss.” The silence that had fallen over them was broken when Blake spoke, “When can you leave for Mistal?” 

Weiss quickly looked over her schedule. She didn’t have any major meetings and those that she did she could either reschedule or attend via video chat. Fauna could take care of some of her paperwork and she could take some with her. Weiss bit her lip as she tried to think about just when she could leave. “If I finish the mountain of paperwork I have on my desk I should be able to book a flight to Mistal tonight.” 

She hears Blake trying to hide a tiny squeal of excitement, failing terribly to do so. Weiss smiles as a small amount of excitement rises in her as well. They hadn’t seen each other face-to-face in years, it’ll be nice. “Alright, You have paperwork to finish.” Blake says and she can practically see the smirk on her face. “It was good talking to you.”

“You too.” Weiss replies before she hears a click, meaning the call has ended. She slumps back into her chair as she sets her scroll down on her desk  before diving back into her paperwork with renewed vigor.

* * *

 

Once she sorted and signed the last of the reports she stands up stretching her arms over her head before leaving her office and telling Fauna to go home before  heading back to her own apartment.  The ride back was spent arranging for a late tonight Airship flight out of Atlas to Mistral. The departure left just enough time for Weiss to pack.  After she took over SDC, Weiss wanted a smaller, more suitable place to live so she settled on a penthouse apartment less than thirty minutes from HQ.  Most people wouldn’t think of such a place as small but to Weiss it was and she prefered it to living in a mansion all by herself. She opened the front door and walked inside, heading straight to her room to pack. She enjoyed packing herself instead of having servants do it for her.  Though occasionally there were times where she missed having servants. Usually it was when she was too tired to make dinner. 

She walked into her closet and picked the outfit she knew for sure she would be wearing, the one she only wore once a year. It’s the outfit she wears on  _ that _ day anniversary, as a tribute to her fallen leader. She carefully took it off the rack and held it up, making sure it was clean and free of wrinkles, before she slowly reaches her hand into the front left pocket, pulling out a chain necklace with a ring on it. Tears prick at her eyes she looks at the ring and chain, clutching it in her hand. She smiles sadly down at the engraving of a rose and vines that wrap around the band. She forces her tears back, before exhaling shakily as she turns and heads back to her room. The anniversary suit is the first in out of the many she packed.

Content with what she’s packed, she calls her Fauna, letting her know she’ll be gone for at least a week and she groans as she informs her that Ironwood has four Atlas Security personnel waiting at the Airship dock.  Ever since that pitiful assassination attempt, Ironwood has refused to let her go anywhere important without his goons. Weiss loved that man like the father she never had but by god, she could take care of herself. She thanked Fauna before ending the call and the quickly called her driver. 

It took her nearly fifteen minutes to get to the airship dock, noticing the hoard of reporters as they pulled up. Ever since she became CEO, they’ve all been up her ass about her actions as CEO and what her personal life was like.  As though she actually had one of those. She never gave any details, always simply ignoring them and the questions they asked.  The only time she ever gave any information to reporters was an SDC sanctioned press conferences. She hated them as much as her critics hated her.  Which was saying something given that she’d had three assassination attempts in the last two years after all. As they pull up to a stop, Weiss pulled the necklace out from under her shirt. She presses a kiss to the cool metal before tucking back under her shirt and plastering on a fake smile as she climbed out of the car.  Immediately,  it was a flood of  flashing lights and people tumbling over each other to get the scoop of the week, all while Atlas Security did its best to hold them back. Four of the personnel lined up behind her as soon as she gets out and  follow her as starts walking to the ship. When they arrived at the top of the loading dock Weiss turned to look at the press with a sweet smile and decided, since she was in a relatively good mood, to throw them a bone. “I’m heading to Mistral to meet with High Leader Belladonna.” And with that she turned and entered the Airship, leaving the Atlas security behind to deal with the mob of reporters. She had agreed to the added security but only when she made public appearances. She was  _ not _ going to bring four bodyguards on what was basically a paid vacation. 

She wiped the fake smile from her face letting out a long exhale as she sits in her seat.  Dealing with the press was exhausting but s he was going to see her team again and that was good news no matter the circumstances surrounding it.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! Snowy here again, thanking you all for the hits and kudos! It means a lot to duck and I that you are enjoying our work! There is much more to come! 
> 
> Much love ❤,  
> \- Duck and Snowy


	3. Appearance of Old Friends

A dry wind blew through the airship dock as Blake watched the first Airships of the day come in for their landings. Blake had woken up well before the sun had fully risen, much to Yang’s chagrin, but she was determined to arrive at the Airship dock before Weiss did. It had been nearly two years since they had seen each other and she was more than a little excited. She watched a few more Airship’s land before she noticed one bearing the Atlas emblem. That was it. That was the ship Weiss was on. Blake stood up and moved forward as the ship circled toward the ground. She found herself on edge with anticipation as the ship finally landed and began docking procedures. She walked up as close as she could with the engines still running. She placed her hand over her face as she stared up at the Atlas Airship, watching as the boarding plank extended from the ship and the door opened. When Weiss stepped out Blake felt her heart skip a beat in excitement. She was wearing an ice blue fitted suit with red accents and a pair of black boots with red laces and four-inch heels. Blake’s hand moved to touch the red bandana she wore around her neck in memory of her former team leader. They locked eyes and Weiss smiled slightly as she made her way down the dock. 

Once she was on the ground, Blake ran forward pulling Weiss into her tight embrace. She stiffened at the contact but eventually relaxed and returned the hug. When they pulled away Blake couldn’t help but smile at the other woman, “It’s so good to see you.” 

“Yeah. It is.” Weiss looked around the nearly empty airship base, “Where’s Yang? I thought she would have been here.” 

“She’s asleep. She refuses to wake up before the sun does.” Blake laughed and Weiss smiled sadly. Blake suddenly remembered the circumstances of her visit and felt guilty for rubbing her relationship in Weiss’s face. “I’m sure she’s up now though. She’s so excited to see you again.” Blake wrapped her arm around Weiss’s and began pulling her toward where she had her car idling. 

“My luggage...” Weiss whined as she half-heartedly pulled against Blake’s grip. 

“I’ll have Ilia grab it. I want to catch up with you.” The walked through the exit gate and toward the expensive looking black car that was parked at the curb. 

“Ilia? Is she’s still following you around like a lost puppy?” Weiss said and Blake couldn’t help but laugh. 

“Well, she  _ is _ my second in command, what do you expect?” Blake pulled away and opened the door for Weiss, “After you Princess.” The teasing tone of the comment made Weiss role her eyes as she slid into the car making room for Blake. 

Once they were both in the car with the door closed, the driver in the front seat looked over his shoulder at the pair, “Where to High Leader Belladonna?” 

“Home, please.”  She repli ed and the car jolted to life,  pulling away from the curb and began  heading towards their destination. Blake look ed over at Weiss, who  was starring out the window, watching  as the  buildings flew by as they passed them. She cleared her throat causing Weiss to be startled out of whatever thoughts she’d been enveloped in . Blake smiled at her hoping to ease any tension Weiss might be feeling. “So, do you want to just talk  as business partners or  can we talk as friends?” She asked giving a classic Yang smirk. 

Weiss lets out an exaggerated exhale. “Yang is growing  on you a little too much .” She drops her arms, getting more relaxed in the car. 

“Well, I mean , we  _ do  _ live together. We’re bound to pick up a few of each other's idiosyncrasies. ” Blake chuckled when she saw Weiss smile at the comment. 

Weiss sat silently for a few seconds before she speaking. “I’m happy you two found each other, Blake.” She puts a hand on Blake’s shoulder and Blake looks at her confused,  _ ‘I’m glad she’s happy for us but she looks so...sad’  _ She thinks as she looks at the  sullen smile  on Wiess’s lips .

“Weiss…I…” she begins only to trail off when she realizes she doesn’t quite know how to bring up this topic.  Hesitantly, she continued, “I want ed to talk to you about Ruby”. She watches as Weiss visibly stiffened and her expression hardened as she makes eye contact with Blake. 

“What do you mean?” Blake folds her ears down at the sudden change in the environment.  Blake knew that Weiss didn’t want to talk about Ruby. None of them liked talking about their former leader. Hell, it had taken months of gentle prodding to get Yang to open up about it and even then it had been an emotionally exhausting process for the both of them. Weiss had shut down emotionally after Ruby was announced among the dead. She hadn’t even cried when they’d been showed the body and told it was hers, just stared down at it with a cold, blank expression. Blake would have helped Weiss but she had returned to Atlas the first chance she got and at the moment Yang was Blake’s priority. Not Weiss. 

“Weiss, it’s okay to talk about her,” Blake  said slowly, choosing her words carefully . Weiss keeps a straight, cold stare on her.  Not letting a single trace of emotion across her eyes. It made Blake shudder slightly but she continued none the less, “I know you loved her, Weiss.” 

She watched as Weiss’s expression went from cold to shocked before finally softening. Blake knows exactly how she feels, battling a battle no one can see but you.  Fighting demons that only you can see. Demons that haunt you for things that you have no control over.  She just wished she could help Weiss more than just by giving some advice. 

“Blake,” Weiss finally says and Blake snaps her head up, making eye contact with Weiss her expression now cold once more. She sighed before speaking "Blake,” she says again,  softer this time, as Blake moved a bit closer to her friend. “I loved her, yes, but she's dead. What happened, happened. We can't change it." she says as her voice cracks from emotion and Blake sees a few tears drop down her face. Blake’s expression softened and she pulled Weiss into a hug. She felt her stiffen a bit at the sudden contact but slowly returned the hug. “I’m glad you’re actually showing emotion again Weiss,” Blake said with a chuckled. Weiss grunted and backed out of the hug but failed at hiding her giggle. 

“Don’t expect it to last. I have a reputation to maintain.”  Weiss says as she looks at Blake. 

“ Of course you do, Ice Queen .” Blake remarked sarcastically, and Weiss rolled her eyes at the nickname . 

“I can’t remember the last time I felt this relaxed,” Weiss admitted, catching Blake’s attention once more.  “Thank you, Blake.”

“ Don’t worry about it, Weiss. I mean, that’s what friends are for, after all. ” She said with a smile which Weiss returned before relaxing into the seat.  _ ‘I’ve missed you, Weiss.’  _

The rest of the ride to the Xiao-Long/Belladonna residence was spent exchanging  laughter and conversation  about how their lives were going. The car pulled up to a two-story house in the typical Mistral style but with a different color scheme than the other houses in the area. The blackish purple paint job was accented by the bright yellow trim. Some people might have thought it was a bit gaudy but the two members of the household were respected members of the community and no one would ever say so to their faces. Blake leaned forward slightly so she can hand Roux a stack of Lien. “Here and thank you for working on your day off.” 

His eyes widened when he saw them and quickly pushed them back toward Blake, “I could never, Madam.” 

“Please, I insist. I know you have a family.” She watched as he considered it for a moment, “Please, I make more than enough Lien to spare this much for the favor you did me today.” 

Reluctantly, Roux took the Lien from Blake and gave her a smile, “Thank you, High Leader.” Blake returned the smile before leaving the car and watched as it drove back down the road and out of sight. She turned to look at Weiss just in time to see Yang saunter out the front door. She was wearing a pair of loose sweatpants and a tank top that showed off a generous amount of skin. She had yet to put her prosthetic for the day and her remaining hand through her bedhead. 

“Yang is still Yang I see,” Weiss  chuckled and Blake couldn’t help the slight flush that crossed her face when she noticed the bruise on forming on Yang’s neck. She hoped Weiss wouldn’t notice but knowing Weiss she probably already had but was too polite to bring it up. Yang quickly moved out of the doorway and toward Weiss pulling the Heiress into a one-armed hug which Weiss reluctantly returned. 

“It’s good to see you, Ice Queen.” What had once been an insult to Weiss was now an affectionate nickname shared between teammates. 

“Its good to see you too Yang,” Weiss mumbled into Yang’s shoulder before pulling away and exchanging smiles. 

Yang gestured over her shoulder at the still open door, “Hey, why don’t we continue this reunion inside?” They both silently agreed as they followed Yang inside with Weiss taking in the small entry hall and the photos that hung from walls. Blake was half a step into the living room when she realized Weiss wasn’t following her. She returned to the entryway to find Weiss staring at a particular photograph, one that Blake immediately recognized. It was the only one they didn’t have hanging on the wall, after all. Blake came to a stop next to Weiss and looked down at the photo, it was of all four members of members of team RWBY smiling at the camera. Despite the grime that covered them and the injuries that were visible, they were happy. It was the last photo they had taken together as a team, nearly seven years ago. 

“Do you want it?” Blake offered and Weiss looked up her eyes widening briefly before she quickly schooled her expression back. 

“No, I couldn’t possibly...” Weiss said as she gently set it back down on the table. “It belongs here.” 

“You deserve to have something to remember her by, Weiss.” 

“I do Blake.” She watched as Weiss unconsciously reached up clutching at her chest. 

Blake sighed, “I know you do. I just mean that you deserve to remember the good times too, Weiss.” 

Weiss furrowed her brows as she looked down at the photo, “Do I?” The hurt in Weiss’s voice made Blake want to pull Weiss into a tight embrace and just tell her it would be alright.

“Yes, you do, Weiss. You deserve to remember Ruby for more than just her death.” Blake picked up the photo handing it to Weiss, “Yang has a whole box of photos we can go through later if you want.” 

Weiss let out soft, teary laugh as she clutched the photograph to her chest, “I’d like that.” 

“Hey, you two better get your asses in here and help me with breakfast!” Yang yelled and Blake couldn’t help but laugh. 

“We better go before she burns the house down.” Weiss went into the living room and Blake followed. They piled into the kitchen, laughing at the mess Yang had managed to make and finding solace in one another's company. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo readers! Snow here again to say that we are planning to make a schedule on posting since we haven't really had one, we are going with one chapter a week for now due to the fact both Duck and I have work, I also have school to I'm a bit busier. Nevertheless, we are doing our best and hope all of you have been enjoying our future au fic! <3
> 
> -Snow & Duck


	4. Accommodation

Yang couldn’t keep the smile from her face as she looked over at her girlfriend, no her fiancée, to her left and Wiess to her right. The food in front of them had been forgotten in lieu of the conversation they were currently having. 

“So then I said, “If you can’t think of a reason why I should step down from my position then I’m afraid your argument is invalid.” and you should have seen the look on his face,” Weiss said as she took a sip from her cup, “It was hilarious.” 

“I bet.” Yang said around a mouthful of pancakes which were light and fluffy, just like her mother used to make. Just like Ruby used to love. Yang shook the depressive thoughts of the past from her mind choosing to instead focus on the present.“You know, Ice Queen you should eat those before they get soggy.” 

“I’m not all that hungry.” Weiss said as she set her cup down, “And I’ve been a big fan of pancakes.” 

Yang shrugged, “More for me.” She reached for Weiss’s plate only for Blake to slap her hand away. “Hey! What was that for?” 

“You’ve already had three helpings. Let Weiss eat.” Blake said her ears twitching slightly in annoyance. 

“It’s fine, Blake,” Weiss said picking up her plate and setting in front of Yang, “She can have it.” 

“You need to eat  _ something,  _ Wiess,” Blake said in an exasperated tone and Yang watched as Weiss' shoulders sagged as she reluctantly pulled one of the smaller pancakes from the pile and began nibbling on it. 

“You know we should do something fun together today,” Yang said which got a weird look from both her partner and Weiss. “Ya know as a team.” She flashed them a smile hoping it would help dispel the 

“Well actually,” Blake started, her ears swiveling slightly forward the way they always did when she was nervous, “I was thinking we could look through some of the old photos of Ruby you have in storage.” 

Yang blinked at her partner, “I said fun not utterly depressing.” She turned to Weiss asking, “Is this something you want to do, Weiss?”

Weiss looked like a deer caught in a set of headlight as she swallowed the small mouthful of food before speaking, “I, um, I,” She glanced at Weiss who glanced at Blake who just shrugged as if to say it was her decision to make. “I think I’d like to, yes.” 

“Are you sure?” Yang pressed both for her own and for Weiss’ benefit. She knew how much Ruby’s sacrifice had hurt Weiss because she new how much it had hurt her. She knew that Weiss had chosen to shove her grief down inside her instead of actually dealing with it and Yang didn’t know how doing something like this would affect her. Maybe it would help her move on but maybe it would just hurt her more this is already had. 

Weiss nodded shortly, a tight grimace pulling at her lips, “Yes. I am.” Yang let out a resigned sigh as she ran her hand through her hair. 

“You really want to do this?” Yang felt a bit like a broken record but she just wanted to be sure. This wasn’t something she wanted to to do. Looking back on the past wasn’t something Yang did. It hurt to much to look back at what she had lost. 

“I do, Yang. I want to try and remember some of the good times.” Weiss smiled sadly down at something on her lap, “I’ve spent to much time focusing on the bad ones these past five years.” 

Yang could understand where she was coming from but she still wasn’t sure if it was a good idea. “How about this: We do something fun beforehand so it’s maybe not so sad?” 

“What exactly did you have in mind?” Blake asked as she finished off the last of her tea. Yang shoved the last of Weiss's pancakes into her mouth. 

She quickly chewed them and swallowed, “I figured we could head into town. Mistal is pretty famous for all that artsy-fartsy stuff I know Weiss is into.” Yang smirked and leaned her elbow on the table, “How does that sound?” 

Weiss looked at her with a small smile, “It sounds nice. I always enjoy the pieces Mistral artists produce.” 

“Of course you do.” Yang laughed before turning to Blake, “Hey, do you remember that gaudy looking painting Weiss hung in our dorm our first year at Beacon?” 

Blake laughed as Weiss let out an indignant scoff, “Gaudy? That painting cost more then you make in a year.” 

“I’m sure it did.” 

“And besides if you want to talk about gaudi artwork we should talk about those erotic ninja love novels Blake thought she could hide from us.” Yang watched Blake press her ears against her head as a blush crept across her face. 

“I didn’t-” Blake started only to be cut off by Yang, who let out a loud laugh as she remembered something. 

“Do you all remember when Ruby found Blake’s porn books?” Yang laughed at the way Blake pressed her ears down and covered her face in her hands. Sure, Blake was embarrassed but it was all in good fun. 

“It wasn’t porn, Yang!” Blake groaned from behind her hands and this only caused Yang to laugh a little harder. 

“Sure it wasn’t.” Yang said with a roll of her eyes before quickly returning to the topic, “Anyway, Ruby found one of your “Erotic Romance Novels” and started reading it where you left off because, ‘Hey if Blake likes it then it must be good’, and nearly had a heart attack when she read passed the bookmark.”

Blake groaned her face red from embarrassment, “Yang stop, please.” 

Yang nudged her in the side, “Hey, I thought you wanted to remember the good times? I think this was a good time.”

Blake peaked out from behind her eyes, “You and I have very different definitions of a good time.” 

Yang decided to let this go and move on when she saw the smile on Weiss’s face. “Yeah, sure we do.” She said winking at Blake and causing Wiess to actually laugh. Okay, so it was more of a scoff but Yang still considered it a small victory. 

“You two haven’t changed at all.” She rolled her eyes and Yang felt Blake relax next to her. “Five years and you’re still perfect for each other.” The underlying bitterness in her tone was almost unnoticeable but both Yang and Blake noticed it. 

Blake reached out for Weiss’s hand while starting, “Weiss...” Yang had to put a stop to this before it got anymore depressing then it already was. 

“Alright!” Yang yelled and slammed her hand on the table as she stood up causing Blake to jump and glare at her, “That's enough being depressed out of you young lady.”

Weiss furrowed her brows at the comment, “I’m three months older than you Yang.” 

Yang ignored her as she stacked they’re plates on one another, “If we wanna make it to the festival in time we should probably leave soon-ish.” 

“Festival? You mean...” Weiss trailed off and Yang smirked down at her as she picked up the plates. 

“Yep. That’s the one.” Yang said setting the plates in the sink. She had gotten incredibly good at doing household tasks single handedly. Much to Blake’s dismay. “We should head out before it gets too crowded.” 

“But that’s not supposed to be for another week.” It looked like Weiss was mentally doing the math which was  _ such  _ a Weiss thing to do. 

“Yeah, it’s supposed to be but there's a storm headed this way and you know how the people here are.” The people of Mistral were very superstition about storms and weather in general. When you lived on a cliff side over the ocean you tended to respect nature a little more then most. Weiss nodded as she stood up and that’s when she noticed the photograph that was clutched to her stomache. Yang opened her mouth to say something before closing it deciding that Weiss probably needed it more then she did though she did have to wonder what she did with her copy.  _ ‘Probably tossed it out with everything else that reminded her of Ruby.’  _ Yang shook her head. They had all delt with the loss of Ruby differently, Blake and Yang had done their best to pave the path for their future and move forward. Meanwhile Wiess had shut down completely, doing her best to remove any trace of Ruby from her life and throwing herself into her role as the CEO of the Schnee Dust Company instead of actually dealing with her feelings. “Well, I’m gonna go get ready and then we can leave.” 

Yang flashed Blake a smile before dissapearing down the hall heading toward their room. She pulled her shirt over head tossing it to the side as she walked toward the dresser where she kept her arm. After picking it up and clicking it into place she proceeded to finish getting ready. She turned around, ready to head back out, only to come face to face with Blake who was standing in the doorway. She placed her hands on her hips cocking them to the side and quirking an eyebrow at her partner, “Were you watching me get changed?” When she didn’t answer Yang smirked, “Perv-” The smirk fell from Yang’s face when she noticed just how serious Blake was. “What is it?” 

“I want to talk to you about Weiss.” 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun DUUUUUUUN!  
> What are they going to talk about?!?! *look*  
> You'll have to see! Coming soon, Ch. 5!
> 
> We'd like to thank you all so much for the support, kudos, and hits we've gotten from you all. Duck and I really appreciate it! Much love~  
> -Snow


	5. Reconciliation

Ruby looked up at the house and, although she had seen it just moments earlier, found it looking different then it had then. She noticed that the paint was faded and Ruby wondered when he had stopped repainting the house every year. She remembers how it had been an annual tradition of theirs to take a day out of the year to repaint their house. She wondered if he had stopped when both she and Yang had written home saying they weren’t coming home until Salem was defeated or was it when she had been declared among the dead? She wondered when he had finally given up. Ruby knew the look of someone who had given up all too well. After all, she saw it every time she looked in the mirror. People tended not to look too hard at people who looked like they’d just climbed out of a ditch. 

_ ‘I could paint it while I’m here.  _ Ruby quickly shook the thought from her head. She couldn’t stay long. Hell, she shouldn’t even be here. She had blindly followed her father back to the house without much thought but now that she was home she wasn’t quite sure what to do. She couldn’t just run away. Her conscience wouldn’t allow it, what was left of it anyway. She watched as Tai, calling him what he was seemed to make this too real, opened the door and gestured for her to enter which she reluctantly did. 

“Leave your shoes and weapon by the door,” Tai said as he headed into the living room. Ruby did as she was told pulling Crimson Wrath from its holster setting it by the door before taking off her boots and removing her socks. 

The house looked almost exactly like it had when she had first left aside from some minor changes in furniture positions. “Wait here,” Tai said as he disappeared down the hall, leaving Ruby alone with her thoughts.

“Here.” Tai handed her something that, upon closer inspection, turned out to be a towel. “No offense but you smell worse than that time Zwei stuffed a dead rabbit in the vents and we didn’t find it for nearly a month.” Ruby couldn’t help but laugh at the comparison. Unconsciously, she brought her hand up to her nose, sniffing it. She hadn’t realized she smelled that bad but she guessed she was just used to smelling it that she had stopped noticing it. 

“Is the bathroom still...” Ruby trailed off as she realized just how stupid that question was. Of course, the Bathroom was still in the same place. 

“Down the fall and on the left? Yep.” Tai said and Ruby nodded, “Just leave your clothes outside the door and I’ll wash them.”

“You don’t have to...” 

“When was the last time you washed your clothes?” He crossed his arms over his chest and Ruby opened her mouth to respond but found she couldn’t quite remember the last time she had properly washed her clothes. Usually if they got to dirty for her liking she just soaked them in a river or something. When you spent months at a time hunting Grimm personal hygiene wasn’t really a priority.

Ruby closed her mouth letting out a quiet, “Hmm.” 

“Exactly. Now go take shower.” He said as pushed her down the hall and toward the bathroom. “And don’t come back until you smell like roses, young lady!” Tai said with a laugh and she couldn’t help but smile at the running inside joke their family had. 

She found the bathroom looking almost exactly like it had ten years ago aside from a new shower curtain and matt. She turned to look in the mirror looking at her reflection and let out a self-deprecating laugh when she saw the bags under her eyes. She shook her head as she shrugged her jacket off and folding it up and setting it on the toilet. She removed her scarf from around her neck folding it up gently and setting it on top of her jacket. She undid the buttons on her shirt, slipping it off and folding it up before she turned to look in the full-length mirror that was hanging from the door. 

She dragged her eyes over her torso and the scars that now littered it. She finally had the body she had always wanted as a kid, tall and lean with a pair of abs that would make Yang jealous but Ruby couldn’t admire it as she wanted. She reached up running her fingers over the long scar that ran from her collarbone down her chest off-center. She closed her eyes against the memories that flashed through her mind. Letting out a shaking breath, she undid her belt shoving her pants down to the floor leaving her in only a pair of dingy undergarments. 

She stared at her reflection, hating the person who was staring back. She let out another breath before peeling off her dirt-caked boxers and bra and setting them with her clothes. She gingerly set them outside the bathroom before closing the door. She moved toward the shower catching a glimpse of her back and the scar that made its home there. She furrowed her brows, refusing to acknowledge its presence and instead, turned the water on climbing in letting the burning hot water pour over her body. 

Ruby adjusted the water temperature before stepping fully under the water and putting her head under the stream. She watched as the water swirled around her feet, the dirt turning it a murky brown. She hadn’t realized just how caked with dirt she really was. She ran her hands through her hair watching as more dirt swirled around the drain. She continued running her hands through her hair and over her body until the water ran clear. She moved to turn off the water only to remember Tai’s words and, while she was an adult who didn’t have to listen to her father, something still made her reach for the bar of soap that was sitting in a small alcove in the wall. The fact that more dirty water swirled at her feet let her know that she’d made the right choice and she'd be lying if she didn’t feel better afterward rinsing the soap from her body. After returning the soap to its home, she unconsciously reached for the bottle shampoo pouring a small amount into her hand and running it through her hair. As she lathered it up the sound of the door caused her to stiffen as she realised she hadn’t pulled the shower curtain closed. 

“Don’t worry, my eyes are closed.” Ruby relaxed a little and turned to watch as Tai set a stack of clean clothes on the counter. “Here. I put your clothes in the wash.” Ruby knew that this was probably a poly to keep her here longer but she couldn’t help but be thankful. A warm shower and set clean clothes was something that Ruby hadn’t come by in a long while. She rinsed the soap from her hair and stood under the water for a few moments longer before turning the water off. She stepped out grabbing a towel off the rack and running it over her body and hair as she moved toward the sink.

Ruby wiped the fog from the mirror and took in her appearance one more. She ran her hands along the sides of her head feeling the shaved part. “I need to touch this up.” She muttered before pulling at the skin under her eyes and the bags that made their home there. She hated them but she couldn’t get rid of them. She hadn’t slept through the night in nearly eight years. 

She let out a sigh as she picked the top item up which was a light blue sweater made from an incredibly soft fabric and immediately realized it wouldn’t fit. It was definitely made for a woman of a smaller build and that was when it hit her. This was her mothers. She knew Summer was a small woman, not from memory, but from all the photos she had seen of her. Perhaps it would have fit her ten years ago but she had gone through a hell of a growth spurt eight years ago. She was no longer the spitting image of her mother. Her once soft, round face was now hard and narrow. She had stopped dyeing the tips of her hair years ago and now her pitch black hair pooled on one side of her broad shoulders. She narrowed her emerald green eyes at her reflection and wondered how Tai had even recognized her. She looked so different from how she had the last time he had seen her but maybe it was just a thing fathers could do. Recognize his child even when they looked nothing like they remembered or maybe he had just recognized her by her semblance. After all, not many people had a semblance that caused rose petals to magically appear out of thin air whenever it was activated. 

She realized she didn’t really have a choice as she pulled the sweater on over her head. She felt the fabric strain against her shoulders and stomach and it ended up leaving her stomach exposed. After pulling on a pair of soft sweats that were also slightly too small she threw open the door only to find her sense of smell assaulted by something... _ familiar _ . 

Ruby made her way down the hall, her footsteps nearly silent as she approached the kitchen. She stood in the doorway watching as Tai stirred something in a pan on the stove. “What are you cooking?” 

He jumped, turning to look at the doorway letting out a sigh and clutching his chest, “You nearly gave me a heart attack.” Ruby just rolled her eyes at the dramatics and entered the kitchen pulling out one of the chairs and sitting down. 

“So, what are you cooking?” 

Tai smiled, “Your favorite.” 

“My favorite?” Ruby asked. She couldn’t rightly remember what her favorite food had been growing up. 

“Cheeseburger Mac,” Tai said excitedly as he removed the pan from the heat and moved over to one of the cabinets pulling out two bowls. “You used to ask for this every other night.” 

Ruby laughed at the statement, “I did?” She ran a hand through her hair as she watched her father spoon the food into the two bowls. 

“Yeah, you did.” He walked over to the table setting one of the bowls in front of her and an empty chair before sitting down. A silence fell over them as they began to eat the food and Ruby found herself hungrily devouring the food. She was more hungry than she had realized and the familiar taste nearly brought tears to her eyes. It tasted like childhood innocence and of longing for the ease of the past. Ruby finished the food in the bowl and Tai spoke, “Let me get you some more.” He took her bowl and refilled it before returning to the table. They returned to silence and Ruby was fine to keep doing so but Tai seemed to have other plans. “Do you like it?” 

Ruby chewed and swallowed the mouthful she had before stabbing more noodles with her fork, “It’s...good.” Ruby didn’t know what else to say. It was better than anything else she had eaten in the last eight years but the bitterness of nostalgia tainted her tongue making each bite taste bitter with regret. 

“I’m glad,” Tai muttered as he shifted the food around the pool. He glanced up at her and Ruby could see the question in his eyes. ‘ _ Why did you leave? Why did you pretend to be dead? Why didn’t you tell us you were alive?’ _ “I’m happy you still like it.” 

“Are you going to ask or not?” Ruby asked, setting her fork down on the table and finally looking Tai in the eye. 

“Ask what?” Tai deflected and Ruby found anger flaring in her chest. Why doesn’t he just yell at her? She deserves it. She deserves to be hated. She deserves to be despised. She deserved to be- 

Ruby clenched her fist and slammed it against the table. “You know  _ what _ .” Ruby spat and looked away from Tai. She watched as he reached out and placed his hand over her shaking fist. 

“Ruby, I...” He trailed off slightly before continuing, “I don’t care why you did what you did. I’m just happy you’re alive.” 

Ruby pulled her hand from under Tai’s, covering her face in her hands as she felt the tears finally make their escape. 

“Do you hate me for what I did?” Ruby’s shoulders shook as she let out several stuttering breaths. “It’s okay if you do. I hate-” She was cut off as she was pulled into a hug by Tai. 

“I don’t hate you. I could  _ never _ hate you.” He said into her ear and Ruby hesitantly returned the hug. “You’re my daughter, Ruby. Nothing you could ever do could make me hate you.” 

Those words were the ones that caused Ruby to break and the sob that had been building in her chest finally escaped. Her shoulders shook as she sobbed into Tai’s shoulder, “I don’t deserve it. I don’t deserve your forgiveness.” 

“Yes, you do.” Tai rubbed his hand over Ruby’s back as she tried to stifle her sobs. Eventually, she pulled herself out of Tai’s grasp and wiped her eyes on her arm. 

“Thank you,” Ruby hesitated before looking up at adding, “Dad.” The word felt strange on her tongue and she wasn’t entirely sure if she even said it right. 

He looked at her with longing and understanding in his eyes. It hurt her to have hidden from her own father for so long. It hurt her more than she thought it would, but seeing him again for the first time in ten years made her realize just how much she missed him. How much she missed her family. 

She let out a shaky breath, "Do...do you want to know?" She asked her head hung low. She heard a sigh beside from her before she felt a hand on her shoulder. 

"You don't have to if you don't want to," He said causing Ruby to look up. She broke eye contact with him for a second before finally giving him an answer. 

"You deserve to know why."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, Duck Here. 
> 
> This weeks two chapter update is brought to you by my unyielding fear of disappointing others and if I keep on this writing streek we might be able to keep on a two updates a week schedule. 
> 
> Here to hoping me being a compulsive people pleaser pays off in the end.


	6. Sham Smiles

Weiss wasn’t sure what to do. Blake had disappeared after Yang telling her she would be right back but that was over ten minutes ago. Weiss didn’t want to overstep her boundaries by intruding on something that wasn't hers to intrude on and the idea of walking in on her teammates making out just wasn’t something Weiss wanted to do. She loved her teammates but she was sad and lonely and Weiss wasn’t a fan of the idea of having them shove their happiness in her face any more than they already had. She knew they didn’t mean to but every time she looked at them any happiness she might have felt for them was marred by bitterness, regret, and envy. Another few minutes passed and Weiss decided she’d been waiting for long enough. There was no way they’d been making out this long. 

She pushed her chair back and stood up, setting the photo Blake had gifted her down on the table before making her way down the hall. She wasn’t sure if she was overstepping some kind of unspoken boundary or not. She hadn’t seen her teammates in a very long time and a lot had changed between the three of them. She wasn’t sure if they were still the same people she knew. She sure as hell wasn’t. It was then that Weiss noticed the open door and she walked up to it only to stop when she heard the soft sound of sobbing coming from within the room. 

“Hey, it's gonna be okay,” Yang said in a soft quiet voice as she tried to sooth the other person in the room. But if Yang wasn’t the one crying then who- 

_ ‘Blake.’  _ Weiss’s heart clenched in her chest as she realized who was crying. 

She listened to a hiccuping sob from Blake and it took all of her willpower not to let out one of her own. “But what if it's not?” Weiss bit her lip and squeezed her eyes closed against the tears. “What if it’s never okay, again?” Weiss covered her face with her hands as she listened to Blake sob. 

“Blake...” Yang cooed at Blake. “We’ll figure this out, I promise.” 

“But what if we don’t?” Blake let out a stuttering breath, “What if we can’t fix this?” 

“We will, Blake. Weiss is just being Weiss. She just needs time is all.” 

“It’s been five years, Yang!” Weiss flinched at the harshness of Blake’s words, “It’s been five years and she still hasn’t...” She trailed off and Weiss covered her mouth with her hand, “I just miss my friend, Yang.” 

“I miss her too but she’s still here and we have to be there for her,” Yang said and Weiss could practically see her pulling Blake into a hug, “I know how close you two are and how much it hurt when she pushed you away but we have to be strong. If not for us then for her.” 

“I know. I just-” Weiss turned on her heel and moved away from the door before Blake could finish. 

She hadn’t realized how Blake felt. She hadn’t even thought about how her shit mood might be affecting her teammates. Weiss pushed the door to the bathroom open, stepping inside and closing it behind her as quietly as possible. She placed her hands on the edge of the sink and stared at her reflection. She hated what she saw there. The person staring back at her looked sad and bitter and reminded her all too much of who she had been before she had attended beacon. Cold, lonely, and full of bitterness for things she had no control over. 

She turned on the faucet and splashed water over her face in an attempt to remove the redness from her eyes. She turned the water off and looked up into the mirror as water dripped down her face. She still didn’t look any better. She still looked like a sad fucking mess.  _ ‘Maybe if I try and smile.’  _ Weiss thought as she forced herself to smile only for it to come out like more of a grimace. She continued to try until she felt like she managed a genuine one. One that neither Blake nor Yang would be able to tell was fake. It felt wrong on her face like it didn’t belong, but she kept it there nonetheless.

She closed her eyes and let out a quiet laugh, not loud enough for them to hear but loud enough that Weiss could get a feel for it. The fact that she had forgotten what real laughter sounded like was just sad. 

A knock at the door brought Weiss back to the present, “Hey, Weiss? You okay?” Yang said in through door and Weiss quickly wiped her face dry.

“Yeah. I just had to use the bathroom.” Weiss forced more pep then was necessary into her voice. “I’ll be out in a just a minute.” 

“Take your time. No need to rush.” She heard retreating footsteps and Weiss returned to glaring at her reflection. She flashed one final smile finding it a little more believable and turned to leave the bathroom. She could fake being happy if it meant not worrying her friends. After all, pretending was easy and Weiss was an expert. 

She entered the kitchen to find Yang whispering something to her partner a gentle hand on Blake’s arm. Weiss frowned slightly before forcing a smile on her face. Not too bright but also not too dull. Just the right level of cheer for someone who was excited for a festival held in her honor. Okay, so it wasn’t exactly held in her honor but it was celebrating the final battle against Salem so it might as well be. They had led the charge against the monster and had been named heroes of Remnant so the celebration might as well be in their honor, right?

“Are we going or what?” Weiss said, placing her hand on her hip and cocking it to the side. Yang’s heads snapped up and the looked at her in shock for a moment before she smiled.

“You excited, Ice Queen?” Yang smirked and Weiss returned it. Pretending was easy, even when everything hurt. 

“Of course I am. I can’t remember the last time I’ve gone to one of these.” Weiss was always to busy to take part in the Atlas festival not that she would have attended if she weren’t busy. 

“Alright, then let's head out!” Yang yelled and corralled the two of them out the door and into the street. 

The walk to the festival was spent exchanging light-hearted conversation. Weiss could see the tension leaving Blake as they made their way downtown. Her body was relaxed, her ears twitching slightly as they moved past people talking. Occasionally people would recognize Blake and wave at her and she would wave back. It was nice to see her so admired by so many people. 

“And here we are!” Yang yelled when they arrived at the downtown epicenter which was decked out in decorations of all kinds, from balloons to banners. As they moved through the crowded street passing vendors and groups of people talking excitedly Weiss couldn’t help but think about how much Ruby would have enjoyed this. Weiss shook her head of the thought determined not to focus on it. She was going to be happy today or at least fake it until it felt real. “Hey Weiss, me an’ Blake are gonna go sign us all up for something real quick. Why don’t you look around a bit until we get back?” Weiss watched as the pair disappeared in the crowd leaving Weiss alone. She let the smile fall from her face as she moved around to the different vendors. 

Weiss approached one that looked like it was selling jewelry of some kind. Mistral was known for its art and artisans after all. She picked up an incredibly elegant looking necklace. It was made of silver metal carefully crafted into a geometric sphere with a blue gem seemingly suspended in thin air in its middle. “You’ve got a good eye there. I call that there piece, “A Star above Atlas” Weiss carefully examined the necklace noticing that the gem was actually suspended from thin, almost invisible strands of thread. It was beautiful, no doubt and well made to boot.  

“How much?” Weiss asked locking eyes with the craftsman who smiled up at her in a slightly unsettling way.

“Well,” He scratched at the side of his face and Weiss narrowed her eyes at him. She doesn’t like the look in his eyes. “A piece of that caliber typically goes for around 150 Lein but...” 

_ ‘150 Lein? That's absurd! No matter how well crafted it is.’  _

“Given that you seem to have such a discerning taste I might be willing to lower it for you. How does 75 Lein sound?”

Weiss thought about it briefly before fishing out her wallet, “Do you take credit?” 

“That I do.”

* * *

 

As Weiss walked through the festival ground the sound of crying hit her ears despite the noise of the crowded downtown. She stopped in her tracks and strained her ears trying to find just where it was coming from. When she had a good idea of the where the sound was coming from she began moving toward it. She listened to the sound as it got closer until she rounded a corner and was met with the sight of a crying child. She stood in muted horror unsure what to do. Weiss wasn’t exactly what one might call ‘good with children’ but she still couldn’t just stand by and watch as a child cried. She walked over and kneeled in front of him noticing the pair of dog ears that made their home on the top of his head. “Hey there,” Weiss said and the child looked up at her revealing a pair of round brown eyes. “Why are you crying?”

He sniffed, “My momma said I’m not supposed to talk to strangers.” 

_ ‘Smart woman.’ _ Weiss nodded before holding out her hand, “My name is Weiss and I’m here on vacation.” He looked up at her a look of mild skepticism in his eyes, “See now we’re not strangers anymore.” He hesitantly reached out gingerly taking Weiss’s hand and giving it a gentle shake. “What’s your name?” 

“Saffron but most people just call me Saff.” 

Weiss smiled down at Saffron, “Can you tell me what's wrong, Saff?” 

He wiped his eyes with the edge of his shirt as he spoke, “I don’t know where my momma is and I’m scared.” 

Weiss looked around as if scared someone was listening in before leaning in and whispering, “I’m embarrassed to say but I’m actually a little lost as well.” The boy at her from behind her his arms.

“You are? How?” He seemed genuinely curious about Weiss and her level of lostness. 

Weiss laughed a little and rubbed the back of her neck, feigning embarrassment, “Yeah well, I’ve never been to Mistral before and my friends were gonna show me around but we got separated. Would you, I don’t know, maybe want to help me look for them? We could look for your mother as well?” 

He nodded, “Okay.” He and Weiss both stood up and began heading back toward the crowded streets. Before they entered the stream of traffic Saffron reached out and took Weiss’s hand in his. When Weiss looked down at their joined hands and then into the eyes of the child, “So we don’t get separated.” 

“Good idea,” Weiss smiled and they entered the stream of people. Weiss maneuvered them around the people as she looked for some kind of help desk. An event of this magnitude was bound to have one. Weiss craned her neck to look at the signs labeling the different avenues and letting people know where things were. She noticed one that read ‘help’ with an arrow pointing to the left, “Here this way.” She tugged Saff through the crowd and toward where the sign had indicated. She shouldered her way through the crowd, ignoring the indignant shouts of the people as she passed them. She broke free of the crowd just to see a booth populated by two people and a woman with a similar pair of ears to Saffron. 

“Momma!” Saffron yelled, pulling away from the Weiss and running toward the woman. Weiss watched as he attached himself to her waist and buried his face in her stomach. The woman placed a soothing hand the child’s back. 

“Saffron?” He nodded and his mother let out a sigh of relief, “Thank dust. I was so worried.” The woman finally looked up and noticed Weiss watching them for a distance, “And what do you need?” 

Saffron turned around and smiled up at Weiss, “That’s Weiss. She’s lost too.” The woman quirked an eyebrow at her and Weiss just shrugged, “We have to help her find her friends.”

“Do we now?” Saff’s Mother looked at Weiss in a way that made her think that the woman wasn’t exactly fond of her.

“Yes! We have’ta. She helped me so we have to help her.” Saffron tugged at his mother's shirt trying to get her to budge. 

“Honey, I think Miss Schnee can handle herself.” His mother said and Weiss gave her a tight smile. 

“I’ll be fine. I think I can find my friends on my own.” Weiss smiled down at Saffron who looked entirely unconvinced. 

“Are you sure?” 

The as if on cue Yang yelled into Weiss’s ear, “Hey Weiss! There ya are!” She threw her arm around Weiss’s shoulder. “You disappeared. We were worried.” 

Weiss kept her attention on Saffron, smiling, “Yeah I’m pretty sure.” 

“Is she your friend?” Saffron asked, glancing curiously up at Yang. 

“Unfortunately, Yes.” This got an indignant ‘hey’ out of Yang and a laugh out of Saffron. Weiss smiled at Saffron, holding out her hand, “Well, it was a pleasure to make your acquaintance Saffron and I hope you enjoy the rest of the festival.” 

“I will!” Saffron said and Weiss smiled as he was gently led away by his mother. 

“So...” Yang said leaning into Weiss placing her arm on her head like it was an armrest, “Care to share?” 

“No.” Weiss brushed Yang’s hand off and turning to look at the other Huntress, “Where’s Blake?” 

“She got caught up with some people from work so I came to find you.” Yang crossed her arms behind her head and began walking away, “Well anywho, we should probably get going or well miss the first round.” 

“First round of what?” Weiss said as she followed Yang through the crowd which parted for her like she was some kind of Messiah. 

“Of the tournament!” Yang said excitedly, “Me and Blake take part every year and we signed you up too.”

“You...shouldn’t have.” Weiss said to Yang’s back frowning slightly. This was sure to be interesting.

* * *

 

“You should just forfeit now, girly.” The man chuckled as he tapped the mace against his shoulder. She understood why he would think she might want to forfeit. He was a hulk of a man who appeared to be at least 6 feet if not more and looked like he could snap Weiss in two if he tried. Weiss, of course, knew better. “Save yourself the embarrassment of being beat by me.” 

She watched as the man in front of her swung the mace he had as his weapon around. Weiss frowned. Weiss was sure that he lacked any kind of formal training and was also sure that anyone with even a modicum of formal training would be able to tell what an amateur he was. His stance was off balance with his feet being to close together and he held the mace more like a baseball bat than an actual weapon. It was almost sad how easy it was going to be to beat him. 

Weiss purposefully ignored the man's taunts and instead turned her attention to the weapon she had taken for herself. It was a cheap looking and weighed a lot less than her Myrtenaster but for the mock tournament, it would do. She gave it a couple of test swings before smiling. This would work just fine. 

“Are the two fighters ready?” The referee asked and Weiss nodded as did the man letting out a loud affirmative. “THEN BEGIN!”

Weiss watched as the man launched himself toward  her, smirking as she brought up the sword  to block the strike he had aimed at her head, “You’re gonna regret not stepping down bitch.” He growled as he pushed more pressure against their joined weapons.  Weiss frowned at the man, not because he called her a bitch, she’d been called far worse, but because he still thought he had a chance against her. 

“No, you are,” Weiss said as she pushed the man backward and watched as he stumbled over his feet. She had been right about his stance being off balance. She let out a small laugh as she watched the man look at her, smacking his weapon down on the ground. She watched as he regained his footing and adjusted his grip on his weapon, still holding it the wrong way. Weiss nodded to herself as he charged at her. She stepped out of the way watching his foot movements. It seemed he favored his right foot over his left. Weiss continued to move, looking as if she were reciting a dance routine, while the man kept stupidly tried to follow along. They continued this dance, the man clumsily lunging at her and Weiss easily dodging while compiling a list of weakness that she could use against him. It turned out he had quite a few. 

“Fight me for real already, you fucking bitch!”

_ ‘Get yourself some better insults already.’  _ Weiss rolled her eyes as she stepped out of the way of one more sloppy attack, “Fine.” Weiss jumped back slightly and locked eyes with the man. She  brought her hand up, smirked, and made a ‘come on’ gesture  which caused him to charge at her like a raging Boarbatusk. Weiss waited until the last minute to move out of the way and stuck her foot out tripping the man causing him to fall face first into the mud. 

The crowd watching burst out laughing and Weiss couldn’t help but smirk. He pushed himself up and glared at Weiss with murder in his eyes. He charged at her raising the mace above his head and Weiss knew that she had one chance to end this now. Pushing herself forward, Weiss ran low to the ground  holding the sword attached to her right hip  as she moved toward her opponent. She met him in the middle and in a single, swift motion brought her blade into his side.  _ Hard _ . She watched as he went flying sideways colliding with the fence that defined the boundary of the makeshift arena. She watched as he groaned and clutched at his side. She hadn’t hit him that hard. Anyone with control of their aura wouldn’t have been hurt that much by that hit unless... Weiss shook her head of the thought. There was no way. She  calmly  walked over to the man bringing the blade up and pressing against his neck. “You lose.” 

He gritted his teeth and reached for the mace that had fallen to the side, “Not if I can do anything about it.” Weiss kicked it out of reach and stepped on his hand. 

Weiss looked down at him, pressing the dull blade into the man's neck, “You. Lose.” She watched the man's expression go from angry to defeated. He bowed his head as he raised his free hand. 

“I surrender.” He mumbled and Weiss smirked at the defeated man before her. 

“And it seems we have a winner to this round!” The referee looked down at the clipboard in his hand, “Weiss Schnee? Am I reading this right? That can’t be right?” Weiss rolled her eyes. They couldn’t have signed her up under an alias but, then again, this was Yang they were talking about and subtly wasn’t exactly her specialty. “Okay. Okay.” She heard the ref mutter, “Weiss Schnee will be moving on to the next round.” 

Weiss removed her foot from the man’s hand and moved around him, jumping over the fence with ease. She was greeted with a slap on the back and an overzealous congratulation from Yang. “I knew you would beat him. Now it’s my turn!”


	7. Tensions rise

“I’m just concerned that it won't be held up or respected. They never did so with the original equal rights bill why would they respect this amendment?” Blake nodded her head in understanding. She hadn’t been too sure whether this would work when she had first begun drafting the amendment. But, once she had presented the first draft to the council, they had reassured her that they would do everything in they’re power to enforce the new laws. Of course, this didn't mean there wouldn't be those who would break them but the council's reassurance had made the decision to go forward a little bit 

“I understand your concern but I’ve been sure to make it so that the exploitation of Fauna’s won’t happen.”  _ ‘Not again.’  _ Blake would not allow the Faunus to be abused again. Not while she was in charge. 

“I’m just worried it won't be respected. Especially in Solitas.” The older Faunus women worried her lip as waited for Blake’s response. Blake gave another understanding nod. If she remembered correctly this woman had a son in Atlas and she could understand why she would want Faunus to be respected everywhere. The rights of Faunus in Solitas had never been respected but Blake knew that was going to change. It had already begun to change with Weiss in charge of the SDC and Winter in charge of the school and the military but it took more than five years to change an entire kingdoms way of thinking. 

Blake opened her mouth to respond only to be unceremoniously cut off by the announcer yelled, much too loud for Blake’s liking, “Weiss Schnee will be moving on to the next round.” Blake smiled softly as she turned to watch as Weiss hopped over the fence landing beside Yang, who clapped her on the back with a broad smile. Weiss returned it at half its brilliance but it was still a smile. Blake relaxed a little as she watched the interaction and the way Weiss smiled up at Yang. It was good to see Weiss smile. It was good to see her friend happy again. Blake turned her attention back to her conversation partner casting them a soft smile.

“I’ll be sure to address these concerns in my next press release but right now I’d like to watch my partner fight in the tournament.” The woman nodded with a smile and Blake bid her goodbye before moving up toward the front of makeshift as Yang entered the ring. 

“I’m going to go look around some.” Blake looked at Weiss who was smoothing out her suit and running a hand through her hair. 

“You aren’t going to stay and watch Yang’s match?” 

“We both know how it’s going to turn out.” Weiss turned on her heel and began moving through the crowd, waving her hand at Blake as she added, “Congratulate her for me, will you?” 

Blake shook her head as she turned her attention to the arena where Yang was currently sizing up her opponent. She stretched her arms over chest and Blake licked at her lips at how it accentuated her breasts. She just had to wear  _ that  _ shirt today. Yang caught Blake’s eyes giving her a wink just as the referee announced the  contestants of the match.  Blake watches as Yang saunters into the ring, knowing full well she will win the fight. She strains her ears to pick up what Yang was saying to them, with the crowd slowly dying down waiting for the referee to speak.

“You know, “ Yang begins, Blake smiling at the playful tone in her voice, “I’m starting to think you and all the other muscles back there are starting to get soft!” she says, crossing her arms.

Blake giggles at that playfulness but stops as the man speak “oh are you kidding me? It's you!” Blake watches Yang with just as much confusion as her. “You and that FurFag over there!” He yells while pointing towards her.  

“Are you and that Furfag a thing?” Blake nearly flinched at the slur that fell from man’s mouth and she could feel the tension that rippled through the crowd. Blake was worried about that, yes, but she was much more worried about what Yang was going to do to the man. She could feel the anger coming off her in waves set Blake very much on edge. She could already tell that this was not going to end well for the man. 

“What did you say?” Yang growled her arua flaring to life as she clenched her fists. 

“You heard me.” The man smirked as he spun his weapon around, “Are you dating that Furfag?  You guys are all over each other on the news, it's disgusting!”

“No,” Yang yelled her clenched teeth, finally looking up at him with blood red eyes, “We’re engaged!” She launched herself at the man delivering a hard blow to his stomach, causing him to keel over in pain. Blake winced, her ears pressed unconsciously against her head as she watched Yang delivered another punch sending him flying backward. She grabbed him by the front of his shirt and proceed to start punching him again and again until the man was a bloody bleeding mess. The man looked like he was trying to say something but he couldn’t get a word in edgewise. 

With every punch Yang threw you could hear the breaking of bones and rippling of skin. “Never. Say. That. About. My. Fiancee. You. Fucking. Prick!” With the final word, Blake watched Yang break his shoulder, the cracking of it rippling around the stadium. It got deathly quiet for a second before the crowd went wild only to stop again once they saw that Yang hadn't stopped. Blake flattened her ears as she heard the man crying out in pain, screaming for help. Blake realized what Yang is doing and quickly runs through the crowd. Her heart is racing as she reaches the gate that separates the audience from the ring. Blake placed her hand on the fence, ready to jump before a security guard stops her. 

“Ma'am you aren't allowed to enter this arena.” A man with a deep, groggy voice said. Blake looks at the man's hand on her wrist before she shaking it off and staring at him. 

“My fiancée is in there about to kill a man and I'm the only one who can stop her. Are you going to let me through or not?” she says, venom practically spilling out in her tone of voice. 

“I'm serious miss, I can't let you-” She cuts him off before he can speak more by raising her hand up in a stopping motion. 

At this point, she noticed the tail behind him and smirks, “I'm guessing you don't recognize me, but you are forbidding the High Leader from entering this arena to get her fiancée.”

The man's eyes go wide as he realizes who he's been talking to, “I’m so sorry Madam, p-please go ahead.” he stutters, his voice shaking. Blake nods before turning back to the fence, jumping over it and running to her partner,  grabbing her by her upper arm and pulling her back. 

“Yang! Stop!” Blake yelled and watched as the anger faded from her face through her body stayed hard coiled ready for combat. “I’m fine, Yang. I’m fine.” Yang looked away from the bloody pulp gritting her teeth before turning and headed toward the fence, anger still radiating off her body. Blake relaxed as she watched her hop the fence and stalk through the crowd. She let out a sigh as she moved to follow Yang before noticing the man bleeding on the ground. She walked over to him kneeling down next to him, placing a hand on his back, “Do you need any help?” He looked up and gave mute nod blood dripping from his mouth and nose. Blake stood up and looks toward the referee, “This man needs a medic.” When she didn’t get a response she proceeded to yell, “NOW!” The referee was startled into action and Blake kneeled back down to place a hand on the man's shoulder, “We’re going to get you some help. I’d like to apologize for my Partners actions. She tends to have a bit of a temper.” Blake stayed with him until two medics carrying a stretcher entered the ring and watched as they carried him off. She let out a breath running a hand through her hair. Now to find her fiancée before she vented her frustrations on some poor unexpecting soul. 

Blake left the arena and began heading in the direction she saw Yang stalk off in. It wasn’t hard to find her as people were walking quickly away from where she was. She found Yang pacing back and forth while muttering angrily. Blake knew that she was one of the only people who could bring her down when she was like this. She approached the seething huntress, taking her wrist in her hand causing her to pause her pacing and look toward Blake. “Blake...” 

“That was uncalled for Yang.” Blake said as she threaded her fingers through Yangs.

“I know. I just lost control.” She turned to look at Blake gently taking her face in her free hand. “How can I make it up to you?” She brushed her thumb over Blake’s lips

“I think you have an idea.” Blake hummed and Yang smirked as she leaned down, pressing her lips against Blake’s. 

Yang pulled away all the harsh anger having now faded from her face replaced with soft love. “Should we head home?” 

“We’d have to find Weiss first. She wandered off before your fight.” 

“Good thing too. Wouldn’t want to incur the Schnee wrath.” Yang laughed as they began moving away at a leisurely pace. 

“No, you wouldn’t.” Blake laughed, a small laugh. She could only imagine the kind of lecture Yang would be in for when the found her. 


	8. In Memory of The Fallen

They headed back to the Belladonna-Xiao Long household after the fiasco at the festival. They had gone looking for Weiss who they had found yelling at a vendor who looked like he was on the verge of tears. After Blake had apologized to the vendor profusely they made their way back toward the house a tense atmosphere falling over them. The frown on Weiss’s face and the tears threatening to spill from her eyes made it obvious that the smiles she showed today weren’t real. Fake smiles and falsified emotions. Such a Schnee thing to do. Faking a smile and shoving her emotions under the rug, expecting her problems to just go away. Yang was disappointed more than anything. The fact that she felt like she needed to pretend around them hurt more than anything else. 

They arrived at the house after a long, tense walk and immediately split up going in different directions. Weiss disappeared into the bathroom more than likely to try and compose herself, Blake moved toward the kitchen, and Yang headed toward her bedroom. She slipped into her room, quietly closing the door behind her. She walked over to her bed taking a seat on the edge leaning down and pulling a small wooden box out from underneath. She set it on her lap opening it and sifting through the photos inside it. She kept this under her bed so that when she woke up from a particularly bad nightmare and didn’t want to go back to sleep, she could look through the box of memories by the lamplight while Blake pretended not to have been woken up by the sudden movement and influx of light. None of them were very heavy sleepers anymore, after all, war changed people.

Letting out a sigh as she closed the lid and stood up doing her best to keep her emotions under wraps as she headed back into the main part of the house. She entered into the kitchen finding both Weiss and Blake sitting at the kitchen both cradling cups of their preferred beverages of choice in complete silence. She set the box down on the center of the table before pulling out her own chair and taking a seat between her partner and her friend. “You still wanna take a walk down memory lane?” Both CEO and High Leader looked up at the Huntress who placed a hand on top of the box, “These are of her.” She noticed the frowns that pulled at both women's lips and the furrowing of their brows. “We don't have to of course,” Yang said reaching forward and placing a hand over the heiresses. “It's all up to you Weiss.” 

“I want to do it.” She pulled her hand out from under Yangs, “I need to do it.” Yang nodded pulling the box close and opening it retrieving the first photo her fingers touched. Yang looked at the photo, smiling sadly at it. It was a much older picture. Her and Ruby when they were seven and five respectively playing in a sandbox in their backyard. They were cute kids Yang had to admit. 

“This is us as kids,” Yang said handed the photo to Blake whose frown turned into a small smile before handing it off to Weiss. Yang watched as she smiled sadly down at the photo, running her thumb over Ruby. “She was cute, right?” 

Weiss looked up letting out short, almost cynical laugh, “Yeah. She was.” She let out a sigh and wiped her eyes with the heel of her hand as she slipped the photo back into the box. This was good, Yang realized, making Weiss confront the fact Ruby was dead. That she wasn’t coming back. No matter how much they all wished she would. 

Yang shifted through the photos until she found one that she felt comfortable sharing. She really didn't want this to become a three-way pity party any more than it already was. She smiled when she came across one that held no bitter memories. At least none that hurt too much to talk about. It was of them, 10 and 8 respectively, Ruby was in tears her hair a mess one half of it having been shaved off and the other half having been cut much too short. “This one actually has a funny story to it,” Yang said as she handed the photo to Blake who laughed quietly handing it to Weiss who did the same. “We got our hands on our dad's electric razors and I ended up shaving half her head before dad found us.” Yang ran a hand through her hair, “Ruby was so upset. We were starting school in a week and didn't want to go looking like this.” 

“Yeah. I can imagine.” Weiss said with a short laugh before handing the photo back to Yang, “Though I have to ask what compelled you to shave your sisters head?” 

“I honestly don't remember, Weiss. I just  _ did. _ ” Yang said slipping the photo back into the back. 

“That honestly sounds just like you,” Weiss said leaning her head on her hand and letting out a sigh that was a mix of two emotions that Yang couldn't quite place. She pulled out another photo, not really looking at which one it was until it was in her hand. It was the two, in front of their house, just before Ruby started her first year at Signal and Yang started her second. They both had smiles on their lips and you could practically feel the excitement radiating off of Ruby.

She passed it around the table letting everyone look at the two of them in silence before taking the photo back. Yang was about to slip the photo into the box when another one caught her eye. 

“Oh!” Yang exclaimed, dropping the current photo and picking up a new one, “I remember this one.” She smiled sadly down at the photo of her, Ruby and their father in front of their house. “We took this before we left for Beacon.” Yang handed the photo to Blake who then passed it to Weiss, “My dad was so proud of us.” A silence fell over the group, “I’m sure he’s still proud of us.” A deafening silence that fell over the group and Yang leaned back in her chair, breaking the silence before it could become uncomfortable, “Do you think things would be different if Ruby hadn't been accepted into Beacon early?” 

Blake pressed her ears against her head looking at the pictures that littered the table, “Maybe. I don’t know.” Blake rubbed her upper arm before glancing at Weiss, “Weiss? What do you think?” She was still staring at the picture, a frown still on her face. 

“One can hope.” Was all Weiss said as she handed the photo back to Yang who slipped it into the box. 

The photo was at the bottom of the box and Yang knew why. It was the last  _ real  _ photo they’d taken as a team. When Ruby was alive. She didn’t have to say anything about this one. She stared at the photo. Tents and people were visible in the background. There were crates with the SDC logo off to the left. All four girls were covered in dust and dirt from their time in the Vacuo desert. They had several cuts and bruises visible and more that weren't. This was taken a month before the final battle. A month before her sister had been killed by a monster. 

Yang took a deep breath before silently handing to Blake. She frowned down at the picture, gently running her thumb over the picture before handing it to Wiess. There was silence and Yang was about to break it when Weiss spoke.

“I thought this was a good idea but...” Weiss trailed off and she noticed the tears streaming down her cheeks. “This just reminds me how much I miss her.” Yang felt her heart break at the hurt in Weiss’s voice. She knew how much she cared for Ruby. How much she loved her. Weiss pressed her hand over her mouth as tried to stifle the sob that escaped her mouth. 

Yang placed a hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze, “Weiss...It’s okay to cry...We all do it.” 

Her shoulders shook as she finally allowed the sob to escape her lips as she broke down completely. Yang pulled her into a tight embrace and began rubbing soothing circles on her back. She allowed her to soak her shirt with her tears as she grabbed at the back of her shirt. “I just,” Weiss choked out, “I missed her so fucking much.”

“I know.” 

“It hurts...” 

“I know.” 

“I want it to stop...”

“I know.” 

Weiss continued to Yang’s shoulder who continued rubbing her back in soothing circles. “I just want to forget about her. I’m tired of feeling sad all the fucking time.” 

Yang let out a sigh, “I know.” Weiss’s cries died out but she stayed in Yang’s arms allowing her to hide in her face in her shoulder, “But forgetting about Ruby wouldn’t do justice to her memory. We need to remember her because if we don’t who else will?” 

“I know Yang. It just hurts.” Weiss tightened her grip on Yang, “I loved her so much.” 

Yang let out a breath as she ran a hand through Weiss’s hair, “I know you did Weiss.” 

A silence fell over them, broken only by the sound of Weiss’s ragged breathing as she began to regain her composure. Eventually, Weiss pulled away from Yang wiping at her eyes, “I’m sorry. I ruined your shirt.”

“It's fine, Weiss. I have more than one shirt.” Yang laughed, trying to lighten the mood a little as best she could. “Do you feel a bit better?” 

Weiss nodded quietly, “Yeah. I do.” 

“That's good.” Yang took a deep breath and stood up placing her hands on her hips, “Alright! Whose hungry?” She smiled down her two teammates,  both of which looking extremely exhausted from the events just taken place, gave nods.  Yang grins at the acceptance of both parties, “How does pizza sound?” 

“Only if you get half anchovies,” Blake said which caused Yang to scoff. 

“Those are disgusting.” She wrinkled her nose at the thought of anchovies on pizza. “If you get anchovies, then I’m going to get pineapple on the other half.”  

“If you two get those toppings then I want my own pizza because I’m not eating either of those.” 

Yang gave a half shoulder shrug, “Alright. So what do you want to one yours?” 

“Pepperoni and Olives,” Weiss added and Yang nodded.

“Alrighty then. I’ll go order those.” Yang headed over to where she had left her scroll picking it up and dialed the number for a nearby pizza place. 


	9. No Rest for The Wicked

Ruby looked at Tai, watching as he silently did the dishes. He had silently listened as she had told him the story of why she had spent the last five years but the atmosphere had slowly changed as she had told him her reasons.

“Do you, uh, want some help with those dishes Tai?” Ruby asked, an unsureness leaking into her voice. She really hadn’t expected this kind of a reaction. 

“It’s fine,” Tai said shortly, “I’ve got it.” Ruby was more hurt then she thought she would be. She would have preferred it if he had just outright yelled at her instead of this heavy silence. 

“Are you sure Tai? It would go a lot faster if I helped.” 

“I’m sure.” Tai snipped and Ruby decided to stop pushing. 

“I’m gonna go check on my clothes,” Ruby said, pushing herself to her feet and heading out of the kitchen toward the mudroom where the washer and dryer were located. She walked over the washer seeing that it was still running, though it looked like there were only about 15 minutes left if not less. Reluctantly, Ruby took a seat on the chair positioned in the corner of the room watching as the washer shook slightly as it continued through its cycle. 

This wasn’t how she imagined her visit to Patch going. To be honest, she hadn’t imagined it going anyway. She had come here on a whim without thinking about she would do once she was here. She hadn’t thought about what would happen if she ran into someone she knew. If she ran into Tai. 

Ruby ran a hand through her hair letting out an agitated sigh. She would rather Tai yell at her in anger then ignore her in silence. She knew he was angry at her and she would really rather he just yell at her. Let her know what he really thought of her. The buzz of the washer jerked Ruby out of her thoughts, she pushed herself up and moved lethargically over to the washer. Opening it, she removed her wet clothes and tossing them into the drying machine and hanging up her jacket. She closed the dryer lid, setting the timer for 15 minutes before returning to her spot on the chair.

Ruby wasn’t sure how long she had been sitting there when there was a knock followed by Tai, “There's ice cream if you want some.” She looked up to see Tai, leaning against the doorway his arms crossed over his chest, “Unless of course, you’d rather keep hiding in the laundry room?” 

“What flavor?” Ruby asked, a hint of a smile on her lips. 

“Chocolate chip cookie dough. You're favorite.” 

Ruby didn't have it in her to tell him that chocolate chip cookie dough was no longer her favorite flavor so she just smiled, “I’d love some, Tai.” 

“Why do keeping calling me that?” 

“Calling you what? Your name?”

“Yes.” 

“Well, it's your name, isn’t it?” 

Tai put a hand on her shoulder, stopping Ruby in her tracks, “Okay, let me rephrase, Why won’t you call me dad?” 

Ruby gave a half shrug, nonchalantly pulling her shoulder out from Tai, “Just don't feel comfortable doing so.”

“Okay.” He nodded and they walked the rest of the way to the kitchen in silence. Ruby retook her seat watching as he removed the tub and retrieved two spoons. “Like we used to.” He smiled as he pried the lid off and handed a spoon. She took it and scooping ice cream into it and shoveled into her mouth. She let out a satisfied hum as she let the ice cream melt in her mouth before chewing the cookie dough bits. She could remember why this had been her favorite. 

They sat in silence taking turning scooping ice cream into the spoon and shoving them into their mouths. 

The silence was finally broken when Tai set down his spoon and looked Ruby in the eye. He looked at her with love and compassion that she knew she didn't deserve. She didn’t deserve it. “I won't say I understand why you did what you did but I want you to know that I’m just happy your home. Just happy you're alive.” Well at least someone is. “And I’m sure Yang will be too.” 

“No!” Ruby yelled, a little too forcefully and she forced herself to calm down, “No. Please don’t do that. I’d rather she not know.” 

“Ruby, Yang deserves to-”

“I know she does but I don't want her to. Please don’t tell her, Tai.” Ruby pleaded and watched as Tai let out a sigh and nodded his head. 

“Okay. I won’t.” Tai responded and they fell back into silence, several minutes passed before it was broke by Ruby’s scroll ringing from its place on the table. 

“I should probably get that.” Ruby gestured to her ringing scroll before picking it up and answering it, “Hey, Oz.” Because who else would call her. Ironwood perhaps. Glynda, maybe. But no one called her without wanting something in return. 

“Hello, Miss Rose. Did I call at a bad time?” Ozpin spoke and Ruby ran a hand through her hair. 

“No. What do you need?” 

“Can’t I just be calling to check how you're doing?” Ozpin chuckled but Ruby didn’t find it very funny. 

“No, because you never are. Now what do you need, Oz?” Ruby snipped, moving over to where her flask and cigarette tin, picking up the tin and removing a joint which she placed between her lips out of pure habit. 

Ozpin laughed lightly, “I have a job for you.” 

“Oh, do tell.” Ruby drawled sarcastically with a roll of her eyes. 

“Well, it's of a rather...” Ozpin took a deep breath, letting out a sigh, “Sensitive subject matter. If you catch my meaning?” 

Ruby narrowed her eyes, “I do.” 

“I’ll send you the file. Please handle this swiftly and discreetly.” 

“Sure thing, Boss.” Ruby clicked her scroll off, removing the joint from her lips and placing it back in its case while letting out a sigh. She really wasn’t looking forward to this. “I have to go now.” 

“I’ll get your clothes.” 

“I’m sorry I can’t stay longer.” 

“It’s fine,” Tai said as he disappeared out of the room. Ruby really wasn’t looking forward to what she had to do next but what choice did she have.

* * *

 

Ruby sat hidden on the branch of a tree in the Emerald Forest watching the path that her target was supposed to be coming down. She sat quietly watching the forest for any sign of human activity when the sound hurried footsteps hit her ears. She watched as the person came into view, running while looking over their shoulder as if expecting something to jump out at them from the forest. Too bad he didn’t think to look up. 

Ruby waited until he was directly under her to pounce on her target. He let out a scream as Ruby delivered a kick to her targets head, sending him stumbling backward into the ground. She quickly pinned him to the ground with her foot, pulling her dagger from its sheath causing her target to let out a sound of distress. She pressed it up against his throat, pressing her finger against his lips, “Shh, shhh, shhh. Quiet.” Her target let out a pathetic whimper and Ruby removed her finger from his mouth, “Now, tell me who you work for.” 

“I-I-I d-don’t know.” The target stuttered, shaking his head tears streaming down his face. 

DON’T,” Ruby forcefully yelled pressing the blade into the targets neck before forcing herself to calm down and repeating herself, “Don’t lie to me. I know you know who you work for.” 

“I really don’t.” The boy said with the stuttering breath, “I was approached by a man in the market. He asked me if I’d like to earn a couple hundred Lein real easy like. I said yes and he gave me an envelope and told me to deliver it to the address on the front. I never asked for his name.” 

Ruby let out a sigh removing the blade from the boy’s neck and rubbing her forehead with the heel of her hand as she let out an aggravated sigh, “Well can you at least describe him for me?” The boy shook his head and Ruby growled in response. She pressed the blade back against boys neck, “Give me the message.” When the boy didn’t move, she pressed it harder into his neck and repeated her statement through gritted teeth, “Give. Me. The. Message.” Hesitantly the boy reached into his bag pulling out a white envelope with an address written on it holding out a shaky hand. 

“H-here.” He stuttered and Ruby snatched the envelope out of his hand. “Are you going to let me go now?” 

Ruby looked down at him, a frown pulling at her lips as she muttered, “I’m sorry but no.” Blood splattered against Ruby’s face as she slit the courier's throat his blood staining the dirt road. Ruby flicked her blade free of blood before sheathing it. She wiped at her face, smearing the blood across her face as she looked down at the corpse at her feet. She let out a sigh, “I should probably deal with this.” The last time she had just left a body out in the open she had gotten one hell of a tongue lashing from Glynda. Something she never wanted to endure again.

Ruby looked around eventually finding a small bush just large enough to hide the body. She reached down taking the corpse under the arms and dragged him toward the bush. She tossed it under its branches, kicking it further under for good measure just to be sure it was hidden. 

Ruby pulled out a joint and placed it between her lips as she stared down at the body. She really couldn’t leave him here. He couldn’t be any older than seventeen and she had just cut that life short. “Might as well burn the body.” She pulled out a pack of matches using one to light her joint before pulling out a large bottle of Atlesian vodka. She uncorked the bottle and poured it over the corpse. She shook the last dregs out of her bottle tossing it to the side and lighting a match which she tossed it under the bush which caused it to burst into flames. The smell of burning flesh filled the air and Ruby scrunched her nose up at the smell. She picked up the bottle, shoving it in her pack, and began walking away from the burning body. She had finished her job here and now she just wanted to take a shower more than anything else. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note:
> 
> Hey guys, Snowy here!  
> I'm adding in an author's note to let you all know that we haven't updated the fic because both of us recently got new jobs and I have been out of commission writing due to some physical injuries. We do hope to update soon, we will let you guys know!  
> Follow Duck and I on Tumblr for questions or concerns:  
> Duck - @asociallyawkwardduckling  
> Snow - @syndicatesinsanity


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